Work Text:
The plane took off pretty quick, all told, once Izuku and Julia were actually on it. At least, Izuku assumed it was pretty quick. He’d only been on the one commercial flight and Julia hadn’t flown ever so neither of them really had anything to compare it to, but they were in the air less than ten minutes after the door closed behind them.
There was a flight “attendant” (a pretty nice lady, actually, but she was dressed for comfort in nice jeans and a tee shirt instead of a formal uniform), but she disappeared into the cockpit after making sure they knew the safety rules and were settled in. She could’ve read the room, but Izuku was pretty sure Nedzu just thought of everything and just told her to give them space.
He didn’t know what to do with that, or with the idea of adults actually caring about him. Just because he’d decided to accept it didn’t make it any less weird, but he only had a certain amount of time to prepare for it because the flight would only last about thirteen hours or so.
“If you want to try to sleep, I’ll take the first watch.” Izuku offered. Julia, who’d been peering around the inside of the plane (comfy leather seats in a rich, deep brown at the front of the plane, long couches in the back that lined the walls, surprisingly roomy walkway in the middle, hell there was even a coffee station in the back) glanced at him. They were seated across from each other at one of the two tables that separated the front seating area from the couches, and Julia looked exhausted.
He hadn’t cared about Japan, but on some level she still cared about the country she’d grown up in. It had to be rough leaving it like that.
“Do you think we need to keep a watch?” She frowned. “I thought we were going back to people you trusted.”
“We are, but I always keep a watch.” Izuku shrugged. “I’m a vigilante, I’d be stupid not to.”
“Isn’t vigilantism illegal in Japan?” Was Julia’s next question.
“It’s not vigilantism if you’re quirkless.” Izuku smirked (or he tried to, the thirteen year old hadn’t quite mastered that facial expression yet). “The assault, battery, and destruction of property are still illegal though, but it’s fine. Nedzu’s on our side. Neither of us will probably be able to do vigilantism again, but he’s not gonna let us go to jail.” Of that, Izuku was absolutely certain. Nedzu hated the cops and government regardless of the whole Aizawa half of the equation.
“I still don’t understand how you know Nedzu like that.” Julia muttered. Izuku deflated a bit, the weight of his mistakes weighing him down. He really hadn’t meant to get Eraserhead hurt like that, he’d just gotten in over his head and there wasn’t anything he could do to really help the man once he was there until after he’d already been hurt.
“I’ve never actually met Nedzu.” He admitted. “But he’s very protective of those he sees as pack, I’ve been told, and one of those people is Aizawa- pro hero Eraserhead. Eraser basically adopted me, he’s probably the only reason I’m still even alive at this point, I just- I couldn’t- I don’t really know how to let myself trust most adults, and realizing I trusted him… scared me. He got really hurt and it was my fault, but the only thing he cared about was making sure I was safe. I didn’t know how to deal with that so I ran after dropping him off at the hospital. He’ll protect us, so Nedzu will protect us by proxy. Or something.”
“It can’t be that simple.” Julia just stared at him, wondering not for the first time what the hell she’d gotten herself into. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that, but it can’t be that simple.”
“I don’t have reason to believe otherwise.” He told her. “Aizawa earned even my trust. I was going back anyways, I just had to get the panic out of my system. I wouldn’t have brought you with me if I wasn’t absolutely sure about him. Any of them. I know they don’t know you as much as you don’t know them, but Eraserhead didn’t know me either. That doesn’t mean much for them.”
“What doesn’t?” Julia’s eyebrows knit together.
“We’re kids that need help, they don’t need much more than that.”
“...your adults are weird.” The stressed young assassin told Izuku after a long moment.
“Tell me about it.” Izuku snorted with a grin, breaking the tension that’d filled the air between them.
The flight passed both faster and slower than he expected. They both napped, taking turns between talking about nothing, anything, and everything. Izuku was starting to look forward to living with Julia- she was smart as a whip under all that grief and fear, and she obviously had the capability of getting herself to New York, planning an assassination, and successfully pulling it off. She needed a little help to stick the landing- aka escape unscathed- but it was her first time. She was allowed a little assistance and support.
For a few minutes, Izuku wondered what it said about him that he was totally fine with the whole murder of it all, but then he remembered who she murdered and he was fine again. That guy was a dick of the utmost proportions; he deserved it and Izuku refused to feel bad about him.
It wasn’t until they were allowed to unbuckle themselves after landing that Izuku admitted to himself it was time to face the music, but he assumed it would be Nedzu waiting for them on the other side of the stairs being pushed up against the airplane. At most Nedzu and Yamada- Present Mic- who Aizawa said he was married to (and wasn’t that a trip and a half on it’s own). Aizawa had been shot. He was supposed to be in the hospital.
He was standing on the tarmac. Izuku could see him through one of the windows, one arm braced against his ribs as he stared hard at the airplane door (both waiting for it to open and to avoid Yamada’s disappointed stare pointed directly at the side of his head for leaving the hospital AMA.)
“What the fuck does he think he’s doing?” Izuku asked, equal parts horrified, appalled, and irate at the man. He was supposed to be receiving medical attention.
“Is that him? Your Aizawa?” Julia asked, unable to stop herself from peering through the next window over because the greenette had been muttering all of that out loud.
“Would it be bad form for me to yell at him?” Izuku asked rhetorically. He had a choice- panic about seeing the man again, rot in his guilt, or let anger (more like outraged annoyance, but tomato-tomahto) fuel his footsteps out of the plane. The moment the attendant pushed the door up and out of their way the teen was out of his seat, brushing past a surprised Julia, and halfway down the stairs before he knew it.
“Kid!” Shouta sagged in relief when he finally had eyes on the reckless vigilante he’d been trying to adopt for far too long, leaning on Hizashi for support. His husband was pissed at him for this little stunt (Chiyo would be worse, she hadn’t even seen Shouta yet), but he wasn’t going to let Shouta hurt himself even worse.
“What the hell are you doing?” Izuku demanded, hitting the tarmac with all the force of a miniature green tornado. Somehow forgotten off to the side, Nedzu watched the reunion unfolding with extreme amusement. “Do you know how hard to get you to the hospital in the first place??? You should be resting! Getting medical attention!! Not standing at an airport!!!”
“Eh, it’s fine.” Shouta shrugged it off, reaching forward with his good hand to pull the greenette into a firm, one armed hug the moment he was in range enough. He’d almost had a heart attack when Nedzu told him the young vigilante had run to America; he needed the contact to convince himself the kid was safe. “The bleeding is on the inside- that’s where the blood is supposed to be.”
“You’re bleeding internally!” Izuku shrieked so loud he could’ve rivaled the blonde man partially holding Aizawa up, pulling away to stare at the man in pure horror.
“No, he’s not.” Hizashi stepped in before things could escalate any further, admonishing his husband. “Don’t scare him like that Sho. Kiddo, Shouta’s fine- he’s not fully healed, but the hospital was able to heal him enough or I would’ve tied him to the bed. He’s just a little loopy from the painkillers. I’m Yamada Hizashi, you can call me whatever you’re most comfortable with. As much as I’d hoped it’d be under better circumstances, it’s wonderful to finally meet you.”
Izuku found himself just staring at the man. He’d started off stern, nearly lecturing Aizawa for scaring him, but his voice turned warm when he turned to Izuku.
“Midoriya Izuku.” Izuku finally introduced himself. “I’d rather not be called Midoriya, if that’s okay. This is Julia.” He turned back to the plane, where Julia was carefully making her way down the steps with her backpack hanging off one shoulder.
“Hi.” She waved awkwardly, not sure what she was supposed to do and feeling painfully awkward. “Thank you for, um, helping me.”
“Nedzu told us everything we needed to know.” Hizashi told her. The poor dear was too pale and in dire need for a shower, limp, greasy hair pulled up into a ponytail. She had to be terrified; he just hoped they could prove they were trustworthy faster with her than with Shouta’s vigilante. “You’re welcome here, and you’re safe. If there’s one thing we understand, it’s doing what you have to do to survive and breaking a little under that pressure.”
For a moment no one made a move while she processed that. It looked like Julia was about to cry when Shouta opened his mouth and broke the tension in the way only High Shouta could.
“I knew you loved me back, you brought us another baby.” The wounded pro pulled Izuku back into another hug, not caring that the movement made his side hurt.
“Oh my god, Sho.” Hizashi couldn’t stop himself from facepalming.
“Do we need to get him sitting down or something?” Izuku asked the radio host.
“That sounds like a brilliant idea, Izuku.” Hizashi quickly ushered everyone back to the van they’d all come in. He poured Shouta into the front seat and buckled him in before he could pull anyone else into a hug (he got huggy when he was under any sort of influence like that, he always had, but Julia probably wouldn’t have appreciated it and Izuku was starting to get visibly antsy about the technically still a bullet wound). From the driver’s seat he got everyone (Nedzu) introduced.
He’d been worried they were going to loose Shouta’s vigilante to the rat as soon as they were finally able to adopt him. Judging from his grin when talking about the smoothness of Julia’s murder plan, they were about to lose both kids to the rat.
Shouta was going to commit murder (what was the word for murdering your boss who’s a chimera formed of multiple animals? Could they just go with patricide since Shouta saw Nedzu as a father figure anyways?) when the pain meds wore off and he realized what was happening.
There was a flurry of activity once they finally got to the Yamazawa home. The car autonomously drove Nedzu back to his place while Hizashi got Shouta settled on the couch, there was a quick tour of the house and their rooms before they were both sent to shower in their respective bathrooms (Julia in the bathroom connected to their room since that would give her the most privacy, and Izuku in the floor’s main bathroom) while Hizashi made them all food.
A meal, movie marathon, and introduction to their dumbass, attention loving cats later, everyone was relaxed and half-asleep in the living room, settling into their first night in the same household. They weren’t family yet, not really, but Hizashi was hopefully that they’d get there one day.
Then Chiyo broke the tentative peace when she slammed into their house, ready to lecture Shouta worse than he’d ever lectured any of his students for his stupidity leaving the hospital against medical advice.
“Remind me not to piss her off.” Julia whispered to Izuku, both hiding in his room. Izuku could only nod.